History Trivia / MrBean

** The entire "Bus Stop" episode is actually a deleted segment of "Mr. Bean Rides Again". In the actual TV episode, the scene cuts right after Mr. Bean is checking the bus schedule in frustration after he's denied entry from the previous bus.

** The late Alan Shaxon, who portrayed the Magician called Eddie Spangle in episode "Mr. Bean Goes to Town", was also a professional magician in real life.

** Corgi went one step further by also releasing a die cast model of Mr. Bean's nemesis vehicle, the light blue Reliant Regal.

** The entire "Bus Stop" episode is actually a deleted segment of "Mr. Bean Rides Again". In the actual tv episode, the scene cuts right after Mr. Bean is checking the bus schedule in frustration after he's denied entry from the previous bus.
** The retail version of "Merry Christmas, Mr. Bean" episode includes an extra scene where Bean attempts to win the turkey he eventually ended up wearing on his head. The contest being to guess the turkey's weight, he sneaks a scale to the counter; taking the total weight of himself carrying the turkey, he subtracts his own weight when the turkey is taken away from it using a Casio calculator. The person in charge of the contest is shocked when Bean guesses the exact weight (to three decimal places) and wins it, while the customer after him almost trips over the scale left behind. The A&E DVD release (distributed in the US by New Video) is missing this scene. The scene was featured in earlier UK DVD releases, but is excluded from the “remastered” versions.

** Ironically, in an interview on ''Series/TheGrahamNortonShow'', he found himself unable to be associated with the character. He relayed a story of being in an auto part shop and the customer in line with him was looking at him intensely, and finally said he was the spitting image of the actor that played Mr. Bean. Atkinson confirmed that he was, indeed, Mr. Bean's actor. The other customer did not believe Atkinson, but told him the resemblance was so uncanny that he could do "hen parties" as the character and make a mint. Atkinson said he spent the better part of an hour trying to convince the other customer that he really was Rowan Atkinson, but was unable, and gave up, much to his frustration.

* RealLifeRelative: The Magician in episode "Mr. Bean Goes To Town" (named Eddie Spangle) was portrayed by the late Alan Shaxon, while the Assistant (named Monique in the credits) was portrayed by his daughter Julia Howson.

** In one episode, Mr. Bean goes on a date, but when he wants to check his hair it turns out he forgot to take his mirror, so he uses a ''photo booth'' instead. Today, when every cell phone has a digital camera, taking a picture of yourself instead of looking in a mirror doesn't seem so ridiculous anymore ... although no-one would think of using a photo booth for this purpose.
** In the same episode, Mr. Bean buys a new television, and the plug is not fitted to the TV. This was pretty standard in Britain up to the 1980s because of some older houses having different sockets, but would be baffling to younger viewers who have only experienced electrical appliances being sold with a fitted (and non-removeable) plug.

** Ironically, in an interview on Graham Norton, he found himself unable to be associated with the character. He relayed a story of being in an auto part shop and the customer in line with him was looking at him intensely, and finally said he was the spitting image of the actor that played Mr. Bean. Atkinson confirmed that he was, indeed, Mr. Bean's actor. The other customer did not believe him, but told Atkinson the resemblance was so uncanny that Atkinson could do "hen parties" as the character and make a mint. Atkinson said he spent the better part of an hour trying to convince the other customer that he really was Rowan Atkinson, but was unable, and gave up, much to his frustration.

** The Mini is an interesting example -- although Mr. Bean's one was fairly old by TheNineties (it's a late 1970s model, going by the registration plate), the Mini itself remained in production until 1999. They were a fairly common sight on British roads at the time; now, much less so.

* StarMakingRole: For Creator/RowanAtkinson ... internationally at least, and several other countries. He was already a star in his native Britain before ''Mr. Bean'' came out, thanks to ''Series/NotTheNineOClockNews'' and ''Series/{{Blackadder}}''.

* StarMakingRole: For Creator/RowanAtkinson ... in the States at least, and several other countries. He was already a star in his native Britain before ''Mr. Bean'' came out, thanks to ''Series/NotTheNineOClockNews'' and ''Series/{{Blackadder}}''.

* CreatorBacklash: Atkinson admitted in his later years that he doesn't much enjoy playing Mr. Bean, and wishes he could retire the character (outside of Voice Acting) for good.

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* TheCastShowoff: Although Mr. Bean's is repeatedly shown as hardly competent in anything, he excels at driving. Rowan Atkinson is an automobile aficionado and an accomplished race driver.

* {{Defictionalization}}: When the show became popular in the U.S., a company produced faithful (if larger than screen-accurate) replicas of Teddy. Also, Corgi released a die-cast model of his beloved Mini, complete with padlock on the door.

* DistancedFromCurrentEvents: "Mind the Baby, Mr. Bean" was going to be aired on February 17th 1993. However, due to the much-publicized abduction and murder of 3-year-old James Bulger, "Mr. Bean in Room 426" took its place.
* FunnyCharacterBoringActor: Creator/RowanAtkinson doesn't regard himself spontaneously witty. A "making of" video of ''Mr. Bean's Holiday'' shows how meticulous Atkinson is in planning all of the gags.

* PlayingAgainstType: In Britain at least, Creator/RowanAtkinson is arguably better know for his DeadpanSnarker roles, most notably [[Series/{{Blackadder}} Edmund Blackadder]].

* PlayingAgainstType: Creator/RowanAtkinson is otherwise renowned for his DeadpanSnarker roles, most notably Series/{{Blackadder}}. Except in countries that don't know ''Series/{{Blackadder}}''. Brazil for example.
* RecastAsARegular: Matilda Ziegler, who later starred in four episodes as Bean's girlfriend Irma, first appears in the second episode as a maid waiting to greet the Queen. She also appears as the Mother with a Pram in the "Bus Stop" bonus sketch. She also appears in "Hair by Mr. Bean of London" as the coin taker to enter the dog show. She also portrayed the policewoman in the Comic Relief sketch "Mr. Bean's Red Nose Day".

* UnintentionalPeriodPiece: There are a few instances that rather date the show.
** In one episode, Mr. Bean goes on a date, but when he wants to check his hair it turns out he forgot to take his mirror, so he uses a ''photo booth'' instead. Today, when every cell phone has a digital camera, taking a picture of yourself instead of looking in a mirror doesn't seem so ridiculous anymore.
** In the same episode, Mr. Bean buys a new television, and the plug is not fitted to the TV. This was usual in the 1980s and earlier, because of some older houses having different sockets, but would be baffling to younger viewers who have only experienced appliances being sold with a fitted (and non-removeable) plug.
** The Mini is an interesting example -- although Mr. Bean's one was fairly old by TheNineties (it's a late 1970s model, going by the registration plate), the Mini itself remained in production until 1999. They were a fairly common sight on British roads at the time; now, much less so.

* UnintentionalPeriodPiece:

* StarMakingRole: For Creator/RowanAtkinson in the States. He was already a star in the UK when this show came about.
* TechnologyMarchesOn:

* RecastAsARegular: Matilda Ziegler, who later starred in four episodes as Bean's girlfriend Irma, first appears in the second episode as a maid waiting to greet the Queen. She also appears as the Mother with a Pram in the "Bus Stop" bonus sketch. She also portrayed the policewoman in the Comic Relief sketch "Mr. Bean's Red Nose Day".

** In the same episode, Mr Bean buys a new television, and the plug is not fitted to the TV. This was usual in the 1980s and earlier, because of some older houses having different sockets, but would be baffling to younger viewers who have only experienced appliances being sold with a fitted (and non-removeable) plug.

* WrittenByCastMember: Co-written by Creator/RowanAtkinson.

** In one episode Mr. Bean goes on a date, but when he wants to check his hair it turns out he forgot to take his mirror, so he uses a ''photo booth'' instead. Today, when every cell phone has a digital camera, taking a picture of yourself instead of looking in a mirror doesn't seem so ridiculous anymore.

* WordOfGod: According to Rowan Atkinson, the royal family member that Bean accidentally knocks out was meant to be the Queen Mother, not the Queen herself as many people assumed.
* WrittenByCastMember: Co-written by Rowan Atkinson.
* YouLookFamiliar: Matilda Ziegler, who later starred in four episodes as Bean's girlfriend Irma, first appears in the second episode as a maid waiting to greet the Queen. She also appears as the Mother with a Pram in the "Bus Stop" bonus sketch. She also portrayed the policewoman in the Comic Relief sketch "Mr. Bean's Red Nose Day".

* WhatCouldHaveBeen:
** According to rumour, in the original GrandFinale for the animated series, "Double Trouble", there were going to be references to a couple of Creator/RowanAtkinson's previous roles: namely, the leader of the Mr. Bean-aliens was going to be ''Series/{{Blackadder}}'', or at least resemble him. Also, Mr Bean passes a prominent red telephone box while following Irma and Mr Pod to the spaceship; if the show had got clearance, the telephone box would have been a [[Series/DoctorWho police box]] instead, and after Mr Bean would drive past, [[Recap/DoctorWhoTheCurseOfFatalDeath Rowan Atkinson's Doctor]] would have stepped out.

* WrittenByCastMember: Co-written by Rowan Atkinson.

** The retail version of "Merry Christmas, Mr. Bean" episode includes an extra scene where Bean attempts to win the turkey he eventually ended up wearing on his head. The contest being to guess the turkey's weight, he sneaks a pair of scales to the counter; having already weighed himself, he subtracts his weight from the combined weight using a Casio calculator. The person in charge of the contest is shocked when Bean guesses the exact weight (to three decimal places) and wins it. The A&E DVD release (distributed in the US by New Video) is missing this scene. The scene was featured in earlier UK DVD releases, but is excluded from the “remastered” versions.

* CashCowFranchise: While the Live-Action version spanned in 5 Years, it became this for ITV.

* ActorAllusion: The ShoutOut to ''Series/{{Blackadder}} Goes Forth'' in "Merry Christmas, Mr. Bean" (see entry).

* UnintentionalPeriodPiece:
** "Goodnight Mr. Bean" features Mr. Bean using a handgun to shoot out the light in his bedroom instead of simply flicking the light switch. The show ended just months before the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunblane_massacre Dunblane Massacre]], which resulted in the UK's already strict gun laws becoming even more rigid, outlawing private ownership of most handguns like that depicted in the episode.
** The royal in the receiving line sketch is supposed to be the [[UsefulNotes/TheHouseOfWindsor Queen Mother]]. More recently, audiences have started to think that she's supposed to be UsefulNotes/HMTheQueen as she's aged in the years since the sketch first aired.

** The retail version of "Merry Christmas, Mr. Bean" episode includes an extra scene where Bean attempts to win the turkey he eventually ended up wearing on his head. The contest being to guess the turkey's weight, he sneaks a pair of scales to the counter; having already weighed himself, he subtracts his weight from the combined weight using a Casio calculator. The person in charge of the contest is shocked when Bean guesses the exact weight (to three decimal places) and wins it. The A&E DVD release (distributed in the US by New Video) is missing this scene.

* TechnologyMarchesOn: In one episode Mr. Bean goes on a date, but when he wants to check his hair it turns out he forgot to take his mirror, so he uses a ''photo booth'' instead. Today, when every cell phone has a digital camera, taking a picture of yourself instead of looking in a mirror doesn't seem so ridiculous anymore.